


Unfinished Business

by tempiar



Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Jaden (LW + Courier - OC) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 19:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7451134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tempiar/pseuds/tempiar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Butch DeLoria and the squirt that he bullied way too much. Through the time they've traveled the wastes together, it started to feel like their childhood was another life, even with the mutual teasing and probably too much roughhousing. They felt invincible, like nothing would come between them. Guess they were wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfinished Business

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pemalites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pemalites/gifts).



> I kept zoning out so this sucks big time. My bad.
> 
> I'll probably fix it up later - consider it in progress of a rewrite.

Thinking back, Butch probably should have been more on guard.

It was just a food run, and he'd insisted on going along with Jaden - much to her annoyance. " _I can do it myself_." He had scoffed at her words, biting back an insult or two. Really, they'd moved on from being so childish towards each other, but irritating her was probably one of his favorite things. Even now, he'd never admit how beautiful he considered her - how he loved seeing her pout. 

Looking down, his hand covered an area on his chest, vertigo setting in when he fell backwards. It was warm - wet - and a scent that vaguely smelled like rust settled in the air. That was the sound of a gunshot, he was sure of it. So why was he suddenly laying on the ground? He could hardly register the sound of another few shots followed by Jaden's panicked yelling. What the hell was going on?

Butch breathed out shakily as her face came into view, her eyes wide and filled with fear. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but could only grimace in pain as she suddenly fell to her knees and cradled his head in her arms. "Ey.. The fuck nosebleed..?" It was getting hard to breathe, his brow furrowed as realization started to dawn on him. He got shot. No big deal though, he'd been shot before, and Jaden could fix him up in no time.

Except she wasn't trying to. 

It took too long for Butch to notice the warm drops splashing down onto his skin, even longer to notice they were tears. "C'mon.." The sharp pain that had settled in after the initial shock was starting to ebb away. "It's fine, you got this.. I know you'll be able to.." He was cut off by Jaden's sobbing.

Butch moved enough to be able to look down at his hand - at the blood - and where the wound was. He was going through all of the stages of grief, his eyes raising up to meet Jaden's own. She couldn't help him - not this time. An uncharacteristic smile formed on his lips as he gripped her shirt as tightly as he could.

"Ey.. relax.." She shook her head, but he kept talking. "Y'know.. you look real good from this angle. Too bad you ain't close enough to kiss." If anything, Jaden looked more upset at the prospect, but Butch managed to coax her down enough so that he could kiss her. It was getting harder to move. To talk. Breathe. His eyelids were starting to get heavy, a numb feeling starting to claim his senses.

So when she pulled back from the kiss, he resigned himself to memorizing every detail about her face. The freckles dusting the bridge of her nose. Her green eyes - the golden flecks that swam in their depths. The way her hair framed her face. He never got around to complimenting the color she'd recently gone through the trouble of dying it. Even how upset she looked right now was beautiful.

He was definitely in love with her - and he should have told her that a long time ago.

Too little, too late. 


End file.
